Poems of burning fire

There is a tombstone shaped like a flame erected where writer and journalist Chu Cam Phong is laid to rest, and verses inscribed in the stone garden next to the massive monument to the Heroic Vietnamese Mother… All of these seem to remind us of the brutal wartime past, but in a different light, full of faith and love.

Garden of rocks carved with poems

One morning in late May 2025, a group of elementary school students from Tien Chau commune (Tien Phuoc district) visited the Monument to the Heroic Vietnamese Mother on Cam Mountain in Tam Ky city, Quang Nam province. They lingered for a while by the garden of stone carvings before being led by guide Nguyen Thi Truc to the main monument. "Even students from as far away as Quang Ngai come here to visit often!" Ms. Truc reassured me when I asked about the dozens of kilometers the children had just traveled.

Tour guide Nguyen Thi Truc took a group of elementary school students from Tien Chau commune to visit the rock garden.

PHOTO: TL

Ms. Truc has nearly 10 years of experience guiding and introducing tours to groups at this largest monument complex in Southeast Asia. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of national reunification (April 30th), the Monument to the Heroic Vietnamese Mother was honored by the Vietnam Architects Association in the list of 50 outstanding architectural works... But pilgrims don't always leisurely stroll through the garden of stone carvings. They might focus entirely on the massive main stone statue in front, quickly glancing along the 200-meter-long main path from Tien Mon Square to Nghi Le Square. Some might not even notice the 30 stone lanterns placed on either side of the path, symbolizing the 30 long years of waiting for peace and reunification by the mothers, since 1945. Beyond the two rows of main stone lanterns is the "garden of poetry".

The "Poetry Garden" currently displays a total of 10 large stones. "In the design, I included the idea of ​​erecting stones inscribed with poems about mothers to guide the public's emotions before visiting the main statue area," sculptor Dinh Gia Thang recounted. The author of the Monument to the Heroic Vietnamese Mother still remembers the early days of selecting poems. He initially chose several dozen poems and submitted them to the provincial selection committee. Even so, it took several months to complete, leaving only 10 sections to be carved on 10 stones. Because there are so many poems written about mothers, he had to choose the most "memorable" ones.

A group of young people stand beside a rock inscribed with a stanza from the poem "Mother of Hau Giang" by poet To Huu.

PHOTO: TL

I walked around the large rocks, rereading the six-line verse "Away from home for many decades/Last night I heard my mother's gentle lullaby" that Uncle Ho wrote in 1929 when he was active in Thailand. The most frequently chosen verses were by To Huu, with three stanzas carved on three rocks. The rest included one folk song stanza, one poem by Thu Bon, one poem by Bang Viet, along with lyrics from two songs about mothers by Xuan Hong ("My Mother") and Doan Nho ("The Mother of Quang Nam") . The final stanza was chosen from the poem "The Country" by poet Ta Huu Yen, also a song about mothers set to music by composer Pham Minh Tuan, with the familiar opening line: "My country is slender like a drop of the zither…".

Those verses are carved onto white stones from Nghe An. It has to be white stone, so that when carved, the verses truly come alive, explains sculptor Dinh Gia Thang. Day after day, this humble garden of poetry, situated right in front of the colossal monument complex, softens the sharp edges of the stones with its fiery verses.

Heroic and poetic

Every year on June 21st, young people in Quang Nam province visit the memorial stone dedicated to writer, journalist, and martyr Chu Cam Phong on their pilgrimage to their roots. Generations of writers and journalists also frequently return here to light incense in remembrance. This "red address" is also a popular destination for many people on other occasions, such as March 26th, April 30th, and July 27th…

Writer Ho Duy Le (left) during a visit to the memorial monument of writer and journalist Chu Cam Phong.

PHOTO: TL

In March 2010, Chu Cam Phong became the first writer and journalist to be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the President of Vietnam. A year later, near the secret bunker by a small stream in Duy Tan commune (Duy Xuyen district), a marble memorial plaque was erected. The plaque, funded by the Quang Nam Provincial Association of Literature and Arts, was erected at the site where martyr Chu Cam Phong died, and bears the names of his comrades who participated in the final, fierce battle in early May 1971.

Chu Cam Phong, originally from Hoi An, is the author of *Mother Tham's Fruit Orchard*, *The Gusty Wind from Cua Dai*, *The Sea - The Battlefield*, *January Cold*, *Sister Hien's Child *... and is famous for his *War Diary* published in 2000, a collection of his vivid daily notes from the battlefield in Zone 5. He followed his father to the North, graduated from university, and requested to return to the Southern battlefield despite being selected to pursue postgraduate studies abroad. He worked as a reporter for the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), then became a reporter and editor for the *Literature and Arts of the Central Central Region* (Zone 5) magazine, and Secretary of the Party Cell of the Literature and Arts Subcommittee of the Propaganda Department of Zone 5.

Singing beside the memorial plaque of Chu Cam Phong, before the monument was upgraded and renovated.

PHOTO: TL

Writer and journalist Ho Duy Le, former Editor-in-Chief of Quang Nam Newspaper and Chairman of the Quang Nam Provincial Association of Literature and Arts, still remembers the days of campaigning to erect the memorial stone. "I discussed the spirit of the memorial with sculptor Pham Hong, then bought a block of stone to carve. The memorial was erected only about 4 meters from the secret bunker by the bamboo grove where Chu Cam Phong died," writer Ho Duy Le recalled. The 50 million dong collected nearly 25 years ago was a large sum; the cost of erecting the memorial was just over 40 million dong, with the rest used as gifts for the families of the fallen soldiers.

A corner of the garden features carved stone sculptures, a space that guides the public's emotions before they proceed to visit the main statue area.

PHOTO: HXH

The tombstone's shape is reminiscent of the L-shaped secret bunker dug by the bamboo grove, where martyr Chu Cam Phong took refuge and fought to the last bullet. But it could also be the letter V (Victory)... Now, that stone tombstone is known by another name - "the flame-shaped tombstone." Because in the imagination of his colleagues, it seems as if two sparks are rising to merge into "the flame of Chu Cam Phong," the writer and journalist who loved his profession, wielding both a gun and a pen. Many witnesses recount that he had an extraordinary work ethic, simultaneously engaging in agricultural production, fighting, and gathering information in the field. His day usually began at 5:30 a.m. and ended at 1:30 a.m. the following day...

Seventeen years after its initial construction, the memorial plaque for writer and martyr Chu Cam Phong has been upgraded and renovated by the Duy Xuyen District authorities. The owner of the garden donated additional land, making the grounds larger and more spacious, and the plaque has been moved approximately...

It's 5 meters from its original position. But the shape of the stone stele remains intact. The flame on the stele is still burning. A flame that is both tragic and poetic!

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/van-tho-lua-chay-185250617165246167.htm